1 . Of course, Baoyu had seen this new cousin earlier on and
“I’ve met this cousin before,” he
“You’re talking nonsense again,” said his grandmother, laughing.
“How could you possibly have met her?”
“Well, even if I haven’t, her face looks
“So much the better.” The Lady Dowager laughed. “That shows you’re
Baoyu went over to sit beside Daiyu and once more
Then, to the confusion of them all, he asked Daiyu if she had any jade (玉).
This instantly put Baoyu into one of his frenzies (狂暴).
“What’s rare about it?” he
| A．decided | B．recognized | C．observed | D．guessed |
| A．distant | B．free | C．different | D．absent |
| A．wondering | B．speaking | C．hesitating | D．pleasing |
| A．love | B．terror | C．charm | D．trick |
| A．gesture | B．figure | C．movement | D．breath |
| A．bathed | B．mirrored | C．planted | D．dropped |
| A．delicate | B．precious | C．aggressive | D．reserved |
| A．assumed | B．explained | C．declared | D．interpreted |
| A．common | B．familiar | C．pretty | D．similar |
| A．matched | B．committed | C．intended | D．meant |
| A．grasped | B．checked | C．aimed | D．stared |
| A．Realizing | B．Doubting | C．Imagining | D．Admitting |
| A．Setting off | B．Tearing off | C．Wearing off | D．Cutting off |
| A．stormed | B．threatened | C．identified | D．criticized |
| A．romantic | B．complex | C．spiritual | D．typical |
2 . During a judging period for a recent short story contest, I started thinking a lot about dialogue tags. Because in many submissions characters didn’t “say” a thing. They shouted, they inquired, they assumed. Some characters screamed while others murmured. But no one “said” anything. And I started wondering why.
Why do we tell beginner writers to avoid creative dialogue tags in the first place? Why do we insist that characters should stick to “said,” “asked,” and the occasional “sighed?” And, if the advice is so of-repeated, why are writers still unable to resist the siren call of weep, scream, snap, or laugh?
The more I thought about it, the more I understood the temptation. We’re always encouraged to use strong, actionable verbs in our prose. Why walk when you can skip or wander? Why cry when you can sob or weep? Why wouldn’t we reach for exciting verbs instead of mild-boring dull-blah said? Why couldn’t each verb be a tiny sparkling gem in its own right?
The problem, I think, is that every jewel needs a setting to become something more than the sum of its parts. Without something to provide structure, a collection of the world’s most glorious diamonds would still only amount to a heap of rocks.
And a dialogue tag should never, ever be the diamond in any given sentence.
Dialogue is your diamond, friends. When we read your work, your dialogue should be so bright, so sparkling, so lifelike, so wonderfully realistic that our brains “hear” each line instead of merely reading it. We don’t need to be told a character is shouting — we can sense it in the way they spit out words, clench fists, or storm from the room.
A dialogue tag is a mere signpost along the narrative journey, gently indicating who said what. It’s part of a story’s experience, but it’s not part of the story itself, nor should it be treated as such. Dialogue tags are similar to lighting in a Broadway play: without it, the audience would have no idea what was going on, but it usually strives to shine without calling too much attention to itself.
What’s more, readers may not initially imagine a particular line being “sobbed.” When we reach the end of a sentence and find out our leading lady has actually sobbed instead of whispered, it pulls us right out of the story. We pause. We reread the line. We adjust our understanding and begin again. But that wonderful momentum when we’re fully immersed in the scene, holding our breath to find out what our heroine says next, is lost.
Creating a successful work of fiction is about giving the reader all the materials they need to build your fictional world in their mind and not a scrap more. Readers need believable dialogue. They need voices so compelling that they pop right off the page and into our ears. And if you’ve created dynamic characters who speak words we can really hear, you will never need to tell us how something was said.
Senior Editor
1. According to the Senior Editor, the beginner writers are tempted to ______.| A．replace a dull “said” with exciting verbs |
| B．omit what the character said in a dialogue |
| C．resist the warning against strong emotions |
| D．overuse the word “said” in their submissions |
| A．glorious diamonds | B．heaps of rocks |
| C．tiny, sparkling gems | D．Broadway play lighting |
| A．Dialogue tags are said to be the most important aspect of storytelling. |
| B．Without dialogue tags, readers have to reread to adjust understanding. |
| C．Creative dialogue tags may interrupt readers’ wonderful reading flow. |
| D．Effective dialogue tags should describe characters’ emotions directly. |
| A．good works of fiction give as many materials as possible |
| B．readers cannot imagine a line without the dialogue tags |
| C．what was said should be prioritized over how it was said |
| D．writers should choose powerful words for dialogue tags |
Wind on the Hill | Dream | A Match | |
| Subject | |||
| Images | |||
| Rhymingwords | |||
| Rhetorical devices |
4 . The scent of hot bread drifting from the shops along the Street of Flour was sweeter than any perfume Arya had ever smelled. She took a deep breath and stepped closer to the pigeon. It was a plump one, speckled brown, busily pecking at a crust that had fallen between two cobblestones, but when Arya’s shadow touched it, it took to the air.
Her stick sword whistled out and caught it two feet off the ground, and it went down in a flurry of brown feathers. She was on it in the blink of an eye, grabbing a wing as the pigeon flapped and fluttered. It pecked at her hand. She grabbed its neck and twisted until she felt the bone snap.
Compared with catching cats, pigeons were easy.
She tied the pigeon to her belt and started down the street. A man was pushing a load of tarts by on a two-wheeled cart; the smells sang of blueberries and lemons and apricots. Her stomach made a hollow rumbly noise. “Could I have one?” she heard herself say. “A lemon, or…or any kind.”
The pushcart man looked her up and down. Plainly he did not like what he saw. “Three coppers.”
Arya tapped her wooden sword against the side of her boot. “I’ll trade you a fat pigeon,” she said.
“The Others take your pigeon,” the pushcart man said.
The tarts were still warm from the oven. The smells were making her mouth water, but she did not have three coppers... or one. She gave the pushcart man a look, remembering what Syrio had told her about seeing. He was short, with a little round belly, and when he moved he seemed favor his left leg a little. She was just thinking that if she snatched a tart and ran he would never be able to catch her when he said, “You be keeping your filthy hands off. The gold cloaks know how to deal with thieving little gutter rats, that they do.”
Arya glanced warily behind her. Two of the City Watch were standing at the mouth of an alley. Their cloaks hung almost to the ground, the heavy wool dyed a rich gold; their mail and boots and gloves were black. One wore a long sword at his hip, the other an iron cudgel. With a last wistful glance at the tarts, Arya edged back from the cart and hurried off. The gold cloaks had not been paying her any special attention, but the sight of them tied her stomach in knots. Arya had been staying as far from the castle as she could get, yet even from a distance she could see the heads rotting atop the high red walls. Flocks of crows squabbled noisily over each head, thick as flies. The talk in Flea Bottom was that the gold cloaks had associated themselves with the Lannisters, their commander raised to a lord, with lands on the Trident and a seat on the king’s council.
1. The story is set in a place where ______.| A．people raised pigeons | B．only privileged people lived |
| C．people sold and bought food | D．the watchmen received training |
| A．metaphor | B．overstatement |
| C．personification (拟人) | D．rhetoric rhyme |
| A．Remembering people’s appearance so that you can recognize them. |
| B．Perceiving people’s intention so that you can properly talk to them. |
| C．Understanding people’s living conditions so that you can help them. |
| D．Knowing people’ strengths and weaknesses so that you can beat them |
| A．Arya was more hunger than terrified in the story. |
| B．The Lannisters was a big enemy of the gold cloaks. |
| C．The atmosphere of the castle was agreeable and welcome. |
| D．The authority treated the executed people’s dead bodies in a cruel way. |
5 . Not Waving but Drowning
Stevie Smith (1902-1971)
Nobody heard him, the dead man, but still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought, and not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking, and now he's dead.
It must have been too cold for him, his heart gave away, they said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always （Still the dead one lay moaning）.
I was much too far out all my life, and not waving but drowning.
‘Not Waving But Drowning’ by Stevie Smith describes the emotional situation of a speaker whose true sufferings go unnoticed by all those around her. The poem begins with the speaker stating that there is a dead man who is not really dead. He is not dead because his story has more to offer to the world. His death came at the hands of apathy (冷漠). The speaker knows this to be true as she is struggling out in the ocean waters. She’s trying desperately to get someone’s attention but all the onlookers believe her to be “waving” rather than “drowning”. Then the speaker criticizes the emotionless reaction of the beach-goers by describing their words regarding the dead man. They see him, attempt to recall something about his life, and then declare him dead without ceremony They believe that it must have been “too cold” for him and that his heart gave out. The speaker continues to say that it has always been “too cold” for her. She has always been too far out to the sea to make people understand her, especially now when she needs understanding the most.
On the surface the poem is about a man who drowns because his movements are mistaken for friendly waving. Taken less literally, however, it speaks to the pain of being misunderstood and the frequent failure of communication between human beings, closely related to which is its potential suggestion of mental illness. That is, the poem can be taken as an extended metaphor (暗喻) for the specific pain of diseases like depression, which makes the man feel like “drowning” yet unable to effectively ask for help. It’s worth noting here that Smith herself struggled with depression for much of her life, and her own experience likely informed the poem. The man’s mistaken gestures, in this reading, indicate the divide between appearance and reality, between how people dealing with such illness are feeling inside and how the world sees them or how they present themselves to the world.
1. What’s the first paragraph mainly about?| A．An introduction of the poet. | B．The explanation of the poem’s content. |
| C．The appreciation of the poem's images. | D．An analysis of the poem's creation background. |
| A．Casually. | B．Definitely. | C．Formally. | D．Violently. |
| A．His inner desire for death. | B．His misleading gestures for help. |
| C．His being drowned for so long a time. | D．His failed communication with people around. |
| A．People usually believe what they see. |
| B．People can't turn a blind eye to whoever is in trouble. |
| C．People should re late to what those in need truly need. |
| D．People with mental illnesses must help themselves out. |
A FEW SIMPLE FORMS OF ENGLISH POEMS
There are various reasons why people compose poetry. Some poems tell a story or describe a certain image in the reader’s mind. Others try to convey certain feelings such as joy and sorrow. The distinctive characteristics of poetry often include economical use of words, descriptive and vivid language, integrated imagery, literary devices such as similes and metaphors, and arrangement of words, lines, rhymes, and rhythm. Poets use many different forms of poetry to express themselves. Now we will look at a few of the simpler forms.
Some of the first poems a young child learns in English are nursery rhymes. They are usually the traditional poems or folk songs. The language of these rhymes, like Poem A, is to the point but has a storyline. Many children enjoy nursery rhymes because they rhyme, have a strong rhythm, and often repeat the same words. The poems may not make sense and even seem contradictory, but they are easy to learn and recite. By playing with the words in nursery rhymes, children learn about language.
One of the simplest kinds of poem is the “list poem”, which contains a list of things, people, ideas, or descriptions that develop a particular theme. List poems have a flexible line length and repeated phrases which give both a pattern and a rhythm to the poem. Some rhyme 〔like B and C〕, while others do not.
Another simple form of poem that amateurs can easily write is the cinquain, which is made up of five lines. With these, you can convey a strong picture or a certain mood in just a few words. Look at the example 〔D〕.
Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that consists of 17 syllables. It has a format of three lines, containing 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. It is not a traditional form of English poetry, but is very popular with English writers. It is easy to write and, like the cinquain, can give a clear picture and create a special feeling using very few words. The haiku poem 〔E〕 on the right is a translation from Japanese, which shows a moment in the life of a delicate butterfly.
English speakers also enjoy poems from China, those from the Tang Dynasty in particular. A lot of Tang poetry has been translated into English, such as this one〔F〕.
With so many different forms of poetry to choose from, you may eventually want to write poems of your own. Give it a try!
A
Hush, little baby, don’t say a word,
Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.
If that mockingbird won’t sing,
Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.
If that diamond ring turns to brass,
Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass.
If that looking glass gets broke,
Papa’s gonna buy you a billy goat.
If that billy goat won’t pull,
Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull.
B
Mother
Hundreds of stars in the deep blue sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds that go singing by,
Hundreds of bees in the sunny weather,
Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the world over.
George Cooper
C
LIFE
Life can be good,
Life can be bad,
Life is mostly cheerful,
but sometimes sad
Life can be dreams,
Life can be great thoughts
Life can mean a person,
Sitting in court.
D
Brother
Beautiful, athletic
Teasing, shouting, laughing
Friend and enemy too
Mine
E
A fallen blossom
Is coming back to the branch.
Look, a butterfly!
F
Where she awaits her husband
On and on the river flows.
Never looking back,
Transformed into stone.
Day by day upon the mountain top,
wind and rain revolve.
Should the traveller return,
this stone would utter speech.
Wang Jian
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The characteristics and examples of five forms of poems. |
| B．Encourage readers to write their own poems. |
| C．Reasons of people composing poetry. |
| D．Different types of poems. |
| A. It is a list poem which shows the diversity of life. B. It is a description of a lovely brother. C. It is a translation of a Tang poetry, which describes a woman who waited for her beloved husband to come back from a journey. D. It is a nursery rhyme that illustrates a father’s love for his baby. E. It is a list poem expressing the love for his mother. F. It describes how a butterfly rests on a tree. |
Poem B
Poem C
Poem D
Poem E
Poem F
3. Why do poets use different forms of poetry?
| A．They want to express themselves. |
| B．They want to attract more people. |
| C．They want to describe things in more detail. |
| D．They want people to learn from them. |
| A．Most of these poems make sense. |
| B．These poems have weak rhythm. |
| C．They repeat certain words a lot. |
| D．They must be repeated by children. |
| A．A kind of poem with both a pattern and a rhythm. |
| B．A kind of poem which has five lines. |
| C．A kind of poem kids in the nursery like to recite. |
| D．A kind of poem with 17 syllables. |
| A．It is a traditional form of English poetry. |
| B．It is made up of five lines. |
| C．It gives a vague picture of things. |
| D．It is not difficult to write. |
| A．Read more poems. |
| B．Enjoy English poems. |
| C．Write their own poems. |
| D．Translate poems into other languages. |
| A FEW SIMPLE FORMS OF ENGLISH POEMS | Nursery | ·The language is |
| ·have a strong | ||
| List poem | ·contain a list of things, people, | |
| ·have a flexible line length and | ||
| Cinquain | ·made up of | |
| ·convey a strong picture or a certain | ||
| Haiku | ·a | |
| ·consist of 17 | ||
| Tang poem | ·the |
(1) Some of the first poems a young child learns in English are nursery rhymes.
(2) One of the simplest kinds of poem is the “list poem”, which contains a list of things, people, ideas, or descriptions that develop a particular theme.
(3) Another simple form of poem that amateurs can easily write is the cinquain, which is made up of five lines.
(4) Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that consists of 17 syllables. It has a format of three lines, containing 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively.
7 . Bruno went into the kitchen and got the biggest surprise of his life. He could barely believe his eyes. “Shmuel!” he said. “What are you doing here in my kitchen?”
Shmuel looked up and his terrified face
He held his hand out and Bruno noticed that it was like the hand of the pretend skeleton. In reply, Bruno held his own hand out, which appeared
“Shmuel! Here!” said Bruno, stepping forward and putting some slices of chicken in his friend’s hand. “Just eat them.” The boy stared at the food in his hand for a moment and then looked up at Bruno with wide and
“Thank you, Bruno.” said Shmuel, giving a faint smile.
Bruno smiled back and was about to offer him more food, but just at that moment Lieutenant Kotler reappeared. Bruno stared at him, feeling the
“Answer me!” shouted Lieutenant Kotler.
“No, sir. He gave it to me,” said Shmuel, tears welling up in his eyes. “He’s my friend,” he added.
“Do you know this boy, Bruno?” he asked in a loud voice.
Bruno’s mouth
“Tell me, Bruno!” shouted Kotler, his face growing red. “I won’t ask you a third time.”
“I’ve
Hearing that, Shmuel wasn’t crying any more, merely staring at the floor and looking as if he was trying to
| A．searched for | B．broke into | C．wiped out | D．held back |
| A．mouths | B．wrists | C．figures | D．fingers |
| A．healthy | B．flexible | C．rough | D．slim |
| A．adventurous | B．straightforward | C．inspiring | D．different |
| A．sharp | B．curious | C．grateful | D．regretful |
| A．slice | B．glance | C．shadow | D．glass |
| A．atmosphere | B．breathing | C．responsibility | D．schedule |
| A．Comforting | B．Introducing | C．Ignoring | D．Avoiding |
| A．collect | B．steal | C．clean | D．remove |
| A．explanation | B．help | C．mercy | D．apology |
| A．dropped open | B．shut up | C．felt dry | D．worked fast |
| A．thrilled | B．guilty | C．awkward | D．terrified |
| A．frequently | B．rarely | C．never | D．occasionally |
| A．forbid | B．convince | C．warn | D．permit |
| A．pull | B．pass | C．fell | D．escape |
Chinese Online Literature Gains in Popularity Overseas
Thanks to our country’s push to help Chinese culture go overseas, many Chinese online literature companies have been gaining influence overseas in recent years through the
Many overseas readers even write online novels by imitating Chinese online literary works. Logan,
“Human beings love stories, and some values of heroes in stories
9 . An Excerpt from The Mexican
—by Jack London
A mysterious youth came to the America—based Mexican Revolutionary Committee, requesting for its admission.
Nobody knew his history. The first day he drifted into their busy rooms, they all suspected him of being a spy of the Diaz regime(迪亚兹政权), which had been carrying out the dictatorial rule since 1876.
Boy as he was, he announced that he was Felipe Rivera, and he wished to work for the revolution. The revolutionists looked at each other with doubt in their eyes. And what made revolutionists the most confused was Rivera’s whereabouts—he always came back with his arms or legs seriously injured, dressed in ragged clothes. So what had he been doing recently? Everyone in the Revolutionary Committee started to take precautions against him.
The situation changed totally when the Committee was in bad need of funds. Much to their surprise, such a slender boy should have successively brought them batches of gold and silver coins. Then came the most urgent situation where 5, 000 dollars were needed to buy guns for those revolutionists on standby on the border between the US and the Mexico. Rivera stood out and made a promise that he would give them 5,000 dollars within three weeks.
So, how could he get so much money within such a short period of time?
Rivera was determined to help his people at the cost of his life. He fought against stronger and tougher boxers in the ring to make money for his people. One day he was engaged in a very tough fight against a champion boxer, Danny. Rivera didn’t match Danny in height, weight, or skills. And he was not half as popular. However, “The winner takes all!” And Rivera stubbornly asked for all—all he had on his mind was making the money for his people.
The fight was going on and on. The whole stadium was cheering for Danny; there were few on Rivera’s side. However, Rivera survived one blow after another; his excellent defence was frightening.
Danny rushed, forcing Rivera to give him a clinch. Was it a trick? Rivera thought to himself.
Yes, it was. But Rivera was smart enough to avoid it. He backed and circled away.
He pretended to clinch with Danny’s next rush. Instead, at the last instant, just as their bodies should have come together, Rivera went quickly back. He had fooled him!
While Rivera was dancing away, Danny kept challenging him openly. Having run after him for two rounds, Danny found the boy not even daring to come near him. He started to throw all caution to the winds. Rivera was struck again and again. He took blows by the dozen—just to avoid the deadly clinch.
In the seventeenth round, Rivera, hit heavily, bent down. His hands dropped helplessly. Danny thought it was his chance—the boy was at his mercy. He decided to strike the deadly blow. But before he could do that, Rivera caught him off his guard and hit him in the mouth. Danny went down. When he rose, Rivera gave him another blow on the neck and jaw. He repeated this three times.
Danny did not rise again. The audience shouted for him to stand up. But the miracle did not happen.
“Count!” Rivera cried to the referee. When the count was finished, Danny, gathered up by his assistants, was carried to his corner.
“Who wins?” Rivera demanded.
Unwillingly, the referee caught his gloved hand and held it high up.
Rivera, unattended, walked to his corner, where his assistants had not yet placed his stool. He didn’t care. All he could remember was that he had got the $5,000 he needed. “The winner takes all! ” What mattered to him was that________.
1. The underlined phrase “take precautions against him” in the third paragraph probably means “________”.| A．drive him away to ensure the security of others |
| B．report him to the local police |
| C．lend their helping hand to him in case of injuries |
| D．take measures to avoid potential threats posed by him |
| A．Danny was killed by Rivera after he was given three deadly blows. |
| B．Rivera tried to attack Danny at the very beginning of the boxing match. |
| C．Rivera’s assistants were on Danny’s side and hadn’t expected him to win. |
| D．The referee had been bribed before the match so he didn’t give the fair result. |
| A．he was actually stronger than Danny in the boxing field |
| B．he would be allowed to join the revolutionary army |
| C．his people could use the money he earned to buy weapons |
| D．he was going to fire the assistants who forgot to buy the stool |
①He is aggressive. ②He takes the rival seriously.
③He cares about the revolution. ④He is quite skilled.
⑤He is very cautious. ⑥He lets the audience down.
| A．①②④ | B．①④⑥ | C．②③④ | D．②⑤⑥ |
10 . More than anything, this is a book about unconditional love—a bond between a caring woman and a loyal dog. Harley’s Harlequin Heart written by Christy Jaeger and
Harley takes us along on all his
Through surgery, this smart dog
Harley’s
As Jaeger notes, “The book
| A．explained | B．presented | C．designed | D．included |
| A．misfortune | B．unease | C．inconvenience | D．discomfort |
| A．easier | B．safer | C．better | D．richer |
| A．packages | B．dreams | C．burdens | D．adventures |
| A．diagnosed | B．attacked | C．loaded | D．faced |
| A．mysteries | B．problems | C．cures | D．challenges |
| A．forbids | B．hits | C．informs | D．warns |
| A．active | B．inner | C．useful | D．sudden |
| A．pushes through | B．bends down | C．cheers up | D．gets off |
| A．treatment | B．recovery | C．victory | D．entry |
| A．innocently | B．automatically | C．gradually | D．accidentally |
| A．suffer | B．behave | C．perform | D．delay |
| A．grouch | B．circle | C．protection | D．process |
| A．competing | B．battling | C．continuing | D．mixing |
| A．development | B．discovery | C．imagination | D．description |
| A．possess | B．close | C．share | D．print |
| A．typical | B．happy | C．ridiculous | D．sudden |
| A．spreads | B．sends | C．expands | D．devotes |
| A．decisive | B．logical | C．attractive | D．influential |
| A．routine | B．force | C．message | D．image |
